Mano invisible, cláusulas lockeanas y justicia privada: Emergencia y justificación del Estado en Anarquía, Estado y Utopía

FELIPE SCHWEMBER AUGIER

REVISTA DE CIENCIA POLÍTICA 35.2 (2015): 409-426

Abstract: El presente trabajo analiza el argumento ofrecido por Nozick en favor de la licitud del Estado. Se sostendrá que, bien entendido, este argumento hace frente a dos dificultades diferentes: una descriptiva (el surgimiento inocuo e inintencionado del Estado) y otra de iure (la legitimidad del Estado). La primera es resuelta por Nozick a través de una explicación de mano invisible, la segunda por medio del denominado principio de compensación. Contrariamente a lo que suele creer, se intentará demostrar que el principio de compensación es compatible con la filosofía política de Locke y, por tanto, con el liberalismo de inspiración lockeana.

Filed under: Filosofía

The Roots of Brazil’s Heavy Taxation

GABRIEL ONDETTI

JOURNAL OF LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES 47.4 (2015): 749-779

Abstract: Latin America is widely known as a low-tax region, but Brazil defies that description with a tax burden almost double the regional average. Though longstanding, Brazil’s position atop the tax burden ranking is not a historical constant. As recently as the early 1950s three other countries, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, had similar or even heavier burdens. However, by the early 1980s Brazil had emerged as the most heavily taxed country in Latin America, and subsequent decades reinforced that status. This article seeks to uncover the roots of Brazil’s heavy taxation by examining the process through which it rose to the top of the regional ranking and managed to stay there. It emphasises two variables, the social class bases of public sector growth and the degree of support for democracy among key political actors. Despite changing over time, these variables have consistently interacted in ways that favour rising taxation.

Filed under: Ciencia Política, Economía

Classical Liberalism in Guatemala

ANDRÉS MARROQUÍN AND FRITZ THOMAS

ECON JOURNAL WATCH 12.3 (2015): 460-478

Abstract: We give an account of classical liberalism in Guatemala, its successes, failures, and main figures. Classical liberalism is a young tradition in the country and relatively small. The three most important organizations are Universidad Francisco Marroquín, the Center for Economic and Social Studies (CEES), and the Center for National Economic Research (CIEN). The most important individual for liberalism in Guatemala has been Manuel Ayau, who passed away in 2010.

Filed under: Ciencia Política, Economía, Historia, Sociedad

Venezuela: Without Liberals, There Is No Liberalism

HUGO J. FARIA AND LEONOR FILARDO

ECON JOURNAL WATCH 12.3 (2015): 375-399

Abstract: The Venezuelan economy evolved from a growth miracle (1920–1957) to a growth disaster (1960 to the present). This paper describes the institutional collapse behind this reversal of fortunes. To cast light on Venezuela’s U-turn we provide a brief historical account, and we discuss the role played by educational organizations, the media and culture, and political and entrepreneurial elites in the destruction of liberal institutions. We also describe the most prominent liberal reactions to the pervasive institutional decay endured by the country. Finally, a major lesson emerges from this case study: illiberal mindsets coupled with the absence of leadership bring dire consequences for the people’s standard of living.

Filed under: Ciencia Política, Economía, Historia, Sociedad

The Stock Exchange, the State and Economic Development in Mexico, 1932-1976

JAVIER MORENO-LAZARO

REVISTA DE HISTORIA ECONÓMICA / JOURNAL OF IBERIAN AND LATIN AMERICAN ECONOMIC HISTORY 33.2 (2015): 321-350

Abstract: In this article I examine the history of the Mexican Stock Exchange from the end of the Revolution until 1975, under the hypothesis that it did not carry out its pertinent functions in corporate financing but was rather an economic and political instrument of the government. Due to state intervention and the deficient definition of property rights, its functioning was completely anomalous except during this period. The article represents a first step in the study of the role of the stock exchange in Latin American corporatist economic models.

Filed under: Ciencia Política, Economía

Por Qué es Antidemocrática la Secesión

MIKEL ARTETA

REVISTA DE FILOSOFÍA 40.1 (2015): 157-180

Abstract: Trataré de demostrar que la secesión es intrínsecamente antidemocrática. retomaremos los argumentos secesionistas: de aquellos que parten de una idea (errada) de autogobierno y de quienes lo hacen desde el liberalismo. Luego opondremos objeciones a ambos: defendiendo el valor de la igualdad; desmontando reivindicaciones instrumentales de homogeneidad interna; retomando las objeciones ya clásicas de Buchanan; y, finalmente, recomponiendo, con Habermas y Pogge, un concepto de autogobierno del cual derivaremos que no es legítimo trazar más fronteras y que la democracia demandaría eliminarlas, si fuera posible.

Filed under: Filosofía